Aggie and Timmy

Lyrics
Aggie and Timmy had an idea
They thought it was really winning
They would spin round and round and around
And then they would keep on spinning

After her sixty-third time around
She started to lose her smile
She was so dazed she figured she’d spin ’round
Only once in a while

He was told it wouldn’t be good
So he moved like he thought he should
And so from that day Timmy would
Fidget and wiggle whenever he could

Aggie and Timmy liked all the same stuff
The only difference was how much was enough

Aggie and Timmy had an idea
They thought it was a real winner
They would each have a gallon of ice cream
And nothing else for dinner

After her seventh chocolate scoop
She started to lose her smile
She was so sick she figured she’d eat it
Only once in a while

He was told it wouldn’t be good
So he ate what he thought he should
And so from that day Timmy would
Gobble and gorge whenever he could

Aggie and Timmy liked all the same stuff
The only difference was how much was enough

Aggie and Timmy had an idea
That even in lovely weather
They would stay inside everyday watching
Television forever

After nine days glued to the boob tube
She started to lose her smile
She was so bored she figured she’d watch it
Only once in a while

He was told it wouldn’t be good
So he did what he thought he should
And so from that day Timmy would
Couch potato whenever he could

Aggie and Timmy liked all the same stuff
The only difference was how much was enough

Aggie and Timmy liked all the same stuff
The only difference was how much was enough

StoryThis song and the album it comes from were written using Appreciative Inquiry and Internal Family Systems. With IFS, we can talk about different parts of ourselves as if they are separate people. Hopefully that clarifies why these stories at times refer to he, she and we!

There’s a part of me that just likes to feel good, to be happy. Through doing an Appreciative Inquiry for her song, the ninth written for the album, she recognized that sometimes that desire can lead to unhealthy things, but that’s not her fault. It’s really just that our circumstances make available to us — and encourage us to pursue — so many things that feel good in the moment but happen to be unhealthy. She knows that it’s possible to feel good and be happy while being healthy at the same time. She wanted to write a song about how if we stay in touch with our feelings from the start, it can be easier to trust ourselves when good feelings make us want more of something and bad feelings make us want less.

Because she’s into feeling good, she didn’t want this song about the difference between good things and bad things to be serious, she wanted it to be fun and funny, so that people would enjoy listening to it. Thinking more about the song, she wanted it to show someone learning how to follow their feelings toward good things, even when at first it doesn’t seem like that’s where it’s leading them.

She then remembered an earlier idea for a song, about ice cream and television and other things that people often feel aren’t good for us, and so limits get imposed. Only eat a little ice cream, only watch so much television. From things we’d learned about learning, though, people learn to limit those things for themselves better if they’re allowed to experience what it’s like to have too much of it, to really experience it. To get full and sick on ice cream, to get bored with irritated eyes from too much TV. Things like that. It seems like when these things are allowed to happen early, the lesson can be learned. But when limits are imposed early, the lesson is never learned, and the longing for these things never goes away, so later on we just keep wanting more of them, even when having more of them makes us feel bad. In a way, it was an idea very much related to the one behind the song Whaddaya Say? (The Saga of Sam) — another song about the importance of letting people — including or especially kids — learn for themselves, instead of imposing rules that not only fail to alter people’s own internal motivations but teach them not to trust their own feelings. As in that song, she wasn’t against rules or limits, only those that fail to bring about what they hope to achieve.

From there, she saw the story of two kids. One would go one way, one the other, so we could really see the contrast between them, with ice cream, TV, whatever else — toys, video games, shopping, who knows what else. Just for fun, we looked up names in a baby name book, trying to find names whose original meanings might have something to do with the story and the difference between the kids. After looking at a lot of possibilities, we settled on Agatha and Timothy. Agatha means good — and this part felt like having a female role model in this song! Timothy means fear of God, which seemed appropriate for the other character, always concerned about breaking rules. Having Timothy be a boy helped make for more contrast between the kids. It was also nice that their names had the same rhythm, both in full and in their nicknames. They also both happened to be Greek names, and though there was nothing special about that fact for this song, she liked that the two names came from the same language.

Musically, it seemed to her at first like a moderate-tempo Broadway pop song, happy and enjoyable, maybe even more typically “children’s music”-like than the rest of the album. Maybe she was thinking of “Anything You Can Do” from the musical Annie Get Your Gun, since it’s also a light-hearted look at two people “competing” to see who comes out best. The notion of a simple song led her to think that maybe it should sound like a campfire song, something simple and memorable and very easy to learn, especially since the song is about how to make things easier to learn. We started with a basic acoustic guitar shuffle with very simple chords and melody. As more was written, it seemed to take on a sort of country feel.

Since she’d wanted the song to be fun and funny, the song evolved toward a sound like “King of the Road” by Roger Miller. From there, we felt like playing with a more upbeat version, and it came out sounding like rockabilly and some Elvis Presley songs. For no profound reason, we went that direction for the last part of the song, since it seemed like it fit with the style and would be a fun way to end.

Share your own stories — of art or other things that have inspired you, of how you came to do something artistic or creative, of how the OHB’s songs have impacted you, whatever you like — at the Fan Clan.

Donate
I work hard on the songs and the site, giving away a lot of stuff for free. If I could make a living by making art, I could make — and give away — even more. That could actually happen if everyone who listened contributed just a little bit. If you’ve enjoyed some of my free music or other content — on the site, through downloads, however — why not take a second and make a contribution to support me in making more? Just click on the Donate button in the right sidebar. Thanks!

If you’d rather buy some music, that’s great, too! Click on the Buy tab above, or visit the Shop.